Mountain Jam

Lyrics:[Donovan Leitch]Music:Donovan Leitch

Well known as an extended jam played by the Allman Brothers Band, based
on a theme from Donovan's "First There Is A Mountain."
But the idea of using this theme seems to have originated with the Grateful
Dead, who started using it in the late 60's -
see, for example, the passage at about 9:00 into the version of "Alligator" on
"Anthem Of The Sun."

"'Mountain Jam' was also recorded at the Fillmore.
Taking up two entire album sides, it is the Allman Brothers Band at its most
ambitious. The jam, tracking in at over thirty-three minutes, grew out of a
short and simple folk song by Donovan called 'First There Is A Mountain'.
Duane had first played it sitting in one night with the Grateful Dead at the
Fillmore East in early 1970 [11 Feb 1970].
The Brothers had opened for the Dead and everyone was flying on LSD.
Fleetwood Mac showed up that night and Mick Fleetwood sat in on drums while
Duane and Peter Green and Jerry Garcia jammed on 'Dark Star' and then the
Donovan song. The Allman Brothers soon added the 'Mountain Jam' to its song
list and, in a year's time it had gone from a meandering seemingly
directionless jam into a focused and often majestic song that was divided up
into several separate and distinct movements."

More recently, 'Mountain Jam' has been played by Phil Lesh & Friends,
including as part of their (and American Jubilee's) cover of the album
"Eat A Peach".